Georgia @ Texas A&M preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 1, 2020 ) Texas A&M 48, Georgia 63

Georgia entered the season with hopes of reaching the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2014-15 thanks to a strong recruiting class, but the Bulldogs find themselves buried in the SEC standings entering Saturday’s visit to Texas A&M. Even with Anthony Edwards leading all freshmen nationally in scoring, the Bulldogs have dropped seven of their past eight – the lone victory coming at home over the Aggies on Feb. 1.

The Bulldogs found themselves down 27-5 at home to South Carolina on Wednesday in a game they eventually lost 75-59, and begin the weekend one game ahead of last-place Vanderbilt in the conference standings. “They just outplayed us,” Edwards told reporters after scoring 16 points, but he finished 0-for-7 from 3-point range. “In every aspect, they outplayed us.” The Aggies also are struggling, losing three of their past four games, including the 63-48 defeat at Georgia and Wednesday’s 78-61 home defeat to Florida. “If we force our opponent to shoot a lot of 3s, then we need to finish the defensive possession with a rebound,” Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams told the media after the Aggies were outrebounded 36-20 and surrendered 14 offensive rebounds.

TIME: 3:30 p.m. ET. TV: SEC Network

ABOUT GEORGIA (12-12, 2-9 SEC): Edwards averages 19.5 points, third-best in the conference, but the projected NBA draft lottery pick is shooting 40.8 percent from the field (9-for-30 in his past two games). Freshman point guard Sahvir Wheeler averaged 15 points and 4.8 assists in his four previous games before finishing with four points on 1-for-6 shooting against South Carolina. Georgia shot 34.6 percent from the field and 12.5 percent from 3-point range Wednesday, its second-worst performance in both categories this season.

ABOUT TEXAS A&M (11-12, 5-6): The Aggies have the lowest-scoring offense in the SEC at 60.6 points, and they have not scored 70 points in 21 of 23 games this season. Freshman forward Emanuel Miller scored a team-high 19 points against Florida and shot 8-for-9 from the free-throw line, and in his past seven games is averaging 9.9 points with four double-digit performances. Senior forward Josh Nebo leads Texas A&M in scoring (11.4 points) and rebounding (6.5), finishing with 12 points Wednesday.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. After shooting 50 percent from the field in the first half against Florida, the Aggies shot 34.8 percent after halftime.

2. Georgia junior F/C Rayshaun Hammonds averages 12.4 points and 7.2 rebounds, but in his past six games he is averaging 7.7 points and 4.0 rebounds.

3. Edwards shot 10-for-21 from the field and scored 29 points with 15 rebounds to lead the Bulldogs past Texas A&M in the first meeting this season.

PREDICTION: Texas A&M 68, Georgia 64